In the art of manufacturing secondary storage batteries that are suitable for storing electrical energy by means of a chemical reaction for stationary, vehicular, and other consumer applications, reactants are normally chosen which have the largest theoretical energy capacity per unit of weight or largest theoretical energy capacity per unit of volume. The lead-lead dioxide-sulfuric acid (lead-acid) system is an example of high energy content reactants. However, of the lead present in a typical cell, less than half is available in active form for chemical energy storage reactions. The other lead is present in inactive form as electrode supports and electrical connections. This conventional lead-acid cell has further disadvantages in that during discharge, the lead products are insoluble salts which cause an additonal internal electrical resistance and subsequent loss of energy. Some of the insoluble product, lead sulfate, is shed from the electrodes leading to a permanent loss of capacity, partly because of the volume changes which occur in the active electrode materials as they are discharged.